Easy Pumpkin Soup (Instant Pot or Stovetop)

My Easy Pumpkin Soup has sausage, onion, green pepper, cauliflower rice, cream, and just the right spices, and this is so good! This is a delicious savory pumpkin soup, and now you can make it in the Instant Pot or on the stove.

PIN the Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe to try it later!

This recipe for Easy Pumpkin Soup is something my niece and cooking assistant Kara and I loved when we first made it in the Instant Pot! And today I’m excited to be adding instructions to make this savory soup on the stove! 

Kara and I were not always big pumpkin fans. But the last few years we’ve made some pumpkin recipes we really enjoyed. This soup is a recipe we worked on after I became obsessed with the idea of savory pumpkin soup! And the soup flavored with pumpkin, sausage, and green pepper that we made in the Instant Pot ended up being a big hit on the blog.

I’m sorry it took me so long to try making this soup on the stove, but happy to say that the stovetop version was just as good! I tested it out on a group of friends, and it was a hit with everyone. This soup has a lot of lower-carb ingredients balancing out the pumpkin, so it’s probably lower in carbs than you think. And the recipe makes a big pot of soup, whether you make it in the Instant Pot or on the stove!

And pumpkin season is here, so today I’m urging you to try this savory pumpkin soup if you’re even the slightest fan of pumpkin! I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we did.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• butter
• onion
• green pepper
• minced garlic (affiliate link)
• ground Fennel (affiliate link)
• ground Thyme (affiliate link)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link)
• ground turkey breakfast sausage
• canned Pumpkin Puree (affiliate link), NOT pumpkin pie filling
• canned chicken broth (affiliate link)
• frozen cauliflower rice
• white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link)
• heavy cream
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional

What makes my Easy Pot Pumpkin Soup so good?

This savory Pumpkin Soup recipe has amazing flavor from ground turkey sausage, green pepper, canned pumpkin, chicken broth, and heavy cream. The soup is thickened with frozen cauliflower rice. It’s seasoned with onion, garlic, ground fennel, ground thyme, Spike Seasoning, and just a touch of white balsamic vinegar.

Is White Balsamic Vinegar a must for the Savory Pumpkin Soup?

We used white balsamic vinegar to keep the lovely color of the soup from darkening. But if you only have regular balsamic vinegar it will be work, just realize the color will be a little darker.

What size Instant Pot did I use?

I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot for all my Instant Pot Recipes. You can use Instant Pot Recipes to see my growing collection of Instant Pot Recipes.

What size pot did I use to make pumpkin soup on the stove?

I used my favorite six quart non-stick stock pot (affiliate link) to make this soup on the stove. But the pot was just slightly over half full, so I think any soup pot that’s at least 4-5 quarts will work.

Is this Pumpkin Soup recipe low in carbs?

Pumpkin is a winter squash which has some carbs. This recipe makes a huge pot of soup and it’s a rich soup you might serve as a first course. So I’m calculating the nutritional information at 10 servings, which comes out to 10 net carbs per serving with 17 grams of protein. If you have a larger size bowl and make it eight servings, it will have 11.6 net carbs per serving.

How to make Easy Pumpkin Soup in the Instant Pot:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Chop onion and green pepper.
2. Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM, and add butter. Add onion and green pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Then add minced garlic, ground fennel, ground thyme, and Spike Seasoning, and cook a few minutes more.
3. Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, HIGH. Crumble ground turkey sausage into the pot and cook until sausage is all nicely browned, about 10 minutes.
4. We used this package of frozen cauliflower rice, just over two cups.
5. Add cauliflower rice, canned pumpkin, and chicken stock to the Instant Pot.
6. Lock the lid and set to MANUAL, LOW (or use Soup Setting), 10 minutes. 
7. Let pressure NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then release the rest.
8. Stir in white balsamic vinegar and heavy cream. Taste to see if you want more balsamic vinegar.
9. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
10. Serve hot, with grated Parmesan if desired.
11. Soup with cream doesn’t freeze well, but the Pumpkin Soup will keep in the fridge for several days. When you’re reheating it, be careful not to let the soup come to a boil.

How to Make Easy Pumpkin Soup on the Stove:

Scroll down to the complete recipe below to see instructions for making this soup on the stove.

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

If you wanted to serve this soup as part of a low-carb meal, it would be delicious with any of these bread or muffins:

• Almond Flour Savory Bread
• Low-Carb High Fiber Savory Muffins
• Olive Bread
• Flourless Zucchini Muffins

Want more ideas with pumpkin?

Check out My Favorite Pumpkin Recipes if you’re someone who never gets too much pumpkin!

Weekend Food Prep:

This Easy Pumpkin Soup recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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4.8 Stars (12 Reviews)

Yield: 10 servings

Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

My Easy Pot Pumpkin Soup has sausage, onion, green pepper, pumpkin, cauliflower rice, cream, and just the right spices, and this soup is so good. And now there are instructions for making this savory soup in the Instant Pot or on the stove!

Ingredients

• 2 T butter       
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 T minced garlic
• 2 tsp. ground fennel
• 1 tsp. ground thyme 
• 1 T  Spike Seasoning (or any all-purpose seasoning blend)
• 2 lbs. ground turkey breakfast sausage
• 2 15 oz. cans canned pumpkin puree (NOT Pumpkin Pie Filling which has sugar added)
• 4 cups chicken broth (see notes for stovetop recipe)
• 10 oz. package of frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
• 1 T  white balsamic vinegar (or more, to taste)
• 1 cup heavy cream (see notes)
• salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
• grated Parmesan cheese for serving, optional

Instructions

Instant Pot Recipe:

1. Chop up the onion and green bell pepper.
2. Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, and melt the butter. Add onion and green pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.
3. Then add minced garlic, ground fennel, ground thyme, and Spike Seasoning, and cook a few minutes more.
4. Turn Instant Pot to SAUTE, HIGH HEAT. Crumble the ground turkey sausage into the pot and cook until sausage is all nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner. This will take about 10 minutes; don't rush this step because browning adds flavor.
5. Add cauliflower rice, canned pumpkin, and chicken stock to the Instant Pot.
6. Lock the lid and set to MANUAL, LOW (or use Soup Setting), 10 minutes. 
7. Let pressure NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then release the rest of the pressure.
8. Stir in white balsamic vinegar and heavy cream. Taste soup to see if you want more balsamic vinegar.
9. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
10. Serve hot, with grated Parmesan to add at the table if desired.
11. I don't think soups with cream freeze all that well, but Instant Pot Pumpkin Soup will keep in the fridge for several days. 
12. If you're reheating leftover soup, be careful not to let it come to a boil or the cream will separate.

Stovetop Recipe:

1. Chop up the onion and green bell pepper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and green pepper and cook 2-3 minutes.
3. Then add minced garlic, ground fennel, ground thyme, and Spike Seasoning, and cook a few minutes more.
4. Turn the heat to medium high. Crumble the ground turkey sausage into the soup pot and cook until sausage is all nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner. This will take about 10 minutes. Don't rush this step because browning adds flavor.
5. Add cauliflower rice, canned pumpkin, and chicken stock to the soup pot. (Add one more cup of chicken broth for stovetop cooking, because some liquid will evaporate.)
6. Let the soup cook until it starts to slightly bubble.
7. Then turn the heat down to low or medium low (depending on your stove) and let the soup simmer for one hour. (We didn't cover the pot, but you could if you think too much liquid is evaporating.)
8. After one hour taste the soup and check to see if it has thickened to your liking. You can cook a bit longer if you want the cauliflower rice to be more dissolved into the soup, but we didn't mind it.
9. Stir in white balsamic vinegar and heavy cream. Taste soup to see if you want more balsamic vinegar.
10. Season to taste with salt and fresh-ground black pepper.
11. Serve the pumpkin soup hot, with grated Parmesan to add at the table if desired.
12. Soups with heavy cream don't freeze all well, but this soup will keep in the fridge for several days. 
13. If you're reheating leftover soup, be careful not to let it come to a boil or the cream will separate.

Notes

Use homemade chicken stock if you have some. Use 5 cups broth for stoveop recipe.

You can use half and half or milk instead of heavy cream if you prefer, but cream made this so good!

Some frozen cauliflower rice comes in a 12 oz. package, which will still be fine for this recipe.

Nutritional information shown is based on 10 first-course servings.

If you serve a larger bowl as a main course this soup will have 8 servings with 458 calories, 35 total fat, 13 saturated fat, 14.3 unsaturated fat, 225 total cholesterol, 1877 sodium, 16 carbs, 4.4 grams fiber, 6.7 sugar, and 21 protein.

Nutritional information doesn't include optional Parmesan cheese.

Recipe created by Kalyn and Kara, with a few experiments to get this delicious final version!

Nutrition Information

Yield

10

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 369Total Fat 28gSaturated Fat 11gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 181mgSodium 1511mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 3gSugar 5gProtein 17g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you stick with a small serving size, this Easy Pumpkin Soup Recipe is a good option for any low-carb diet, maybe even Keto, depending on how strict you are. Personally I’d eat this soup as a treat for the original South Beach Diet, but Pumpkin would be limited to Phase 2 or 3, and South Beach would definitely not recommend using cream.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Instant Pot Recipes to find more Instant Pot Soups like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This creamy pumpkin soup was first posted in 2021 as an Instant Pot recipe. The recipe was updated with more information and to add stovetop instructions in 2026.